Market at close: Benchmark indices ended lower but off day's low after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed repo rate by 25 bps to 6 percent on April 4 as expected and kept the stance unchanged to Neutral.

At the close, the Sensex was down 192.40 points at 38,684.72, while Nifty was down 46 points at 11,598. About 1073 shares have advanced, 1426 shares declined, and 164 shares are unchanged.

On the sectoral front, except auto, FMCG and pharma, all other indices ended in red led by IT, bank and energy.

HSBC on Alkem Labs: Research house maintain hold rating on the stock while cut target to Rs 1,860 from Rs 2,000 per share.

According to firm, multiple issues impacted India sales in FY19. Focus ahead remains on improving sales productivity and new launches.

Joseph Thomas, Head Research- Emkay Wealth Management: The RBI has adopted a very sensible and pragmatic approach by cutting the repo rate by 25 basis points while keeping the policy stance neutral. It takes cognizance of the likelihood or potential for inflationary pressures emerging from food prices and fuel prices, and also fiscal pressures from the large government borrowing program. The liquidity management through OMOs, Repos and also the occasional currency swaps would help a somewhat better propagation of the impact of rate modifications to the lower levels.

Ravindra Sudhalkar, ED & CEO, Reliance Home Finance: The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to cut interest rates, second time in a row, is icing on the cake for the interest-rate sensitive sector. After government’s proactive steps to boost real estate markets by relaxing GST rates and offering tax sops in the interim budget, the rate cut will provide much needed impetus to real estate sector, which is reeling under liquidity pressures. Overall, today’s cut in rates will positively impact home loan interest rates by reducing EMIs, and in turn, provide stimulus to demand-side in real estate. We also expect improvement in flow of bank credit to NBFCs.

Gold Updates: Gold prices inched up on Thursday as the dollar eased and a rally in equities paused, while investors kept a close watch on Sino-US trade talks.

Market Opens: It is flat start for the Indian indices ahead of RBI policy meeting.

At 09:19 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 45.55 points at 38922.67, while Nifty is up 5 points at 11649. About 523 shares have advanced, 307 shares declined, and 52 shares are unchanged.

Crude Update: Oil prices dipped on Thursday, with Brent edging away from the psychologically important USD 70 level after easing in the previous session on data showing a surprise build in US inventories.

Wall Street ends higher: US stocks edged higher on Wednesday, extending a strong start to the quarter as a rally among chipmaker shares provided a boost to the broader market on growing hopes of a trade deal between Washington and Beijing.

Asia trade firm: Asian shares paused near an eight-month peak on Thursday as investors awaited developments on trade talks between the United States and China, who appear closer to signing a deal, nudging bond yields higher globally and softening the safe-haven yen.

SGX Nifty: Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader indices in India, a gain of 31.50 points or 0.27 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 11,744-level on the Singaporean Exchange.